CANADA/MEXICO/NAFTA/PAUL RYAN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s trade chief said Thursday [5-17-18] the U.S. is ‘nowhere near’ a deal on the North American Free Trade Agreement, effectively brushing aside an offer from House Speaker Paul Ryan for more time to conclude a deal that could be considered in Congress this year…All three Nafta countries—Mexico, Canada and the U.S.—had sought to wrap up a deal before the height of the U.S. midterm season and before Mexico’s presidential election on July 1. Mr. Ryan (R., Wis.), who had originally set Thursday, May 17 as a deadline, sought to offer Mr. Lighthizer and his Canadian and Mexican counterparts more time to reach a deal this spring that could still get a vote before a new Congress takes office in January..The Trump administration has long criticized Canadian officials for failing to engage in discussions and compromises on several proposals that U.S. officials hope will someday ‘rebalance’ trade in North America. Canadian officials say the Trump administration’s ‘America first’ proposals are unpopular among U.S. and Canadian businesses. The process for passing a trade agreement—including a revised Nafta—through Congress without amendments or procedural delays is complicated and long, and the steps have helped dictate the calendar of the recent talks.”
-William Mauldin and Siobhan Hughes, “Trump Trade Chief Says ‘Nowhere Near’ a Deal on Nafta,” The Wall Street Journal, May 17, 2018 9:58 pm